GALWAY, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Palliare, an emerging company with the vision to create a safer operating room, has appointed John O’Dea as Group CEO. He will oversee the US launch of the company’s EVA15 insufflator, which combines continuous pressure insufflation and surgical smoke evacuation, and the EndoTrap™ endoscopist protection system in early 2021. Mr. O’Dea was previously CEO of Crospon, an Irish medical device company and developer of the Endoflip™ endoscopic diagnostic system, prior to its acquisition by Medtronic in 2017. Caroline O’Dea will continue in her current role as Managing Director of the Irish operation of Palliare.

The company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Giovanni Di Napoli to the Board of Directors. Mr. Di Napoli is currently President of the Gastrointestinal Operating Unit within the Medical Surgical Portfolio at Medtronic.

Commenting on the CEO appointment, Scott Flora, Chairman, said, “We are delighted to welcome John O’Dea into a full-time executive role within the Palliare group of companies, to lead the US launch of the recently FDA-cleared EVA15 insufflator and surgical smoke evacuation system, and to complete product development of the LeakTrap™ and EndoTrap™ surgical and endoscopic safety products being funded as part of the EU PORSAV project.”

Commenting on the new Board appointment, Scott Flora, Chairman said, “We are pleased to welcome Giovanni Di Napoli to the Board. As the company broadens its portfolio to encompass endoluminal insufflation and, in particular, new endoluminal surgery technologies, his deep global experience in endoscopic surgery will bring a new and valued dimension and mindset to the Board.”

About the EVA15 Insufflator

The EVA15 insufflator and smoke evacuation system is the first product from Palliare, designed to create a safer operating room environment and deliver best-in-class insufflation and smoke evacuation performance to meet the particular demands of laparoscopic, endoluminal, endoscopic, and robotic surgical procedures.

About Palliare

Palliare Ltd was founded in 2018 as a spinout from Irish gastro-diagnostic company Crospon, which was acquired by Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) in 2017. Based in Galway, Ireland, Palliare is dedicated to advancing the state of the art in smoke evacuation and insufflation technologies for laparoscopic, endoluminal, endoscopic and robotic surgery. For more information about Palliare, visit www.palliare.com.

About PORSAV

PORSAV (Protecting OR Staff from Aerosolized Virus) is an EU-funded project that emanated out of collaborative work between Palliare and Professor Ronan Cahill of University College Dublin. The early work took place in Ireland in March 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, when, in most parts of the world, laparoscopic surgery was shutting down due to perceived infection risks to staff. There is an urgent need to study the nature and risks associated with standard surgical practice in the face of aerosolized COVID-19 virus, potentially infecting staff due to gas leaks from the abdomen during surgery. By increasing our understanding and knowledge of surgical aerosol leaks, and capturing these leaks with innovative medical devices, PORSAV makes the operating environment safer for surgeons, staff, and patients, and enables surgery services to be re-opened in the wake of the pandemic. For more information about PORSAV, visit https://porsav.eu/.